Paleo Cranberry Sauce

//
http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js

I must confess, this was my first time making a cranberry sauce. Having been born and raised in Costa Rica, Thanksgiving is not a tradition I grew up with, so the thought of putting a fruit sauce over some savory turkey next to “wet bread” didn’t initially appeal to me. When we first came to United States we adopted the thanksgiving tradition. Who wouldn’t want an excuse to get together with your loved ones, have a feast and give thanks for all that we’ve got?

I also had never had turkey before I came here, except for turkey sandwich meat and at first it seemed just too dry for my taste, until I once tried a deep-fried turkey… Oh boy! Was it moist and tender! I think it was fried in peanut oil which I am not a fan of and since I didn’t want to spend a fortune buying 5 gallons of coconut oil, I had to perfect the baked turkey recipe.

Back to the cranberry sauce, I now enjoy the sweet and savory contrast. Earlier this fall I created a rosemary fig sauce over pork chops and it has become one of my favorite dishes. As far as the “wet bread” (stuffing), I still can’t get into it. That’s why I created the sweet potato, apple, and cranberry stuffing.

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh cranberries
½ cup of orange juice, use apple juice for a more traditional flavor
¾ – 1 cup of raw honey
1 tsp of dry ground ginger (optional)
1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp of cinnamon powder (optional)

Preparation:

• Rinse and dry the cranberries and discard the ones that are soft or wrinkled
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the orange juice, honey and spices to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes
• Add the cranberries and continue to cook for about 12-15 minutes or until most of the cranberries have popped and the sauce has thicken. Do not cook for longer than that or the sauce will not set.
• Remove the cinnamon stick
• Serve warm or cold